Eagles
by I've Perfected Imperfection
Summary: Your eagle-like wings pulled me out of the darkness... -Izumi


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Some people were lucky enough to surive love and the wonders of magic altogether, if such a thing existed.

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But, they were cursed under the power of fate,

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and magic was intertwined with their love. Of course, if such a thing existed.

**I've Perfected Imperfection.**

It was a normal day. The sun was shining brightly; the birds were chirping in the background, the sound of children's laughter and cried could be heard from the distance and the sound of the water gushing.

"Yuka, will you do me the honours of marrying me?" Izumi went down on one knee traditionally, opening the red velvet box that contained a beautiful yet simple diamond ring that sparkled under the sun's rays.

"I've been waiting for this day, Izumi. What took you so long? I'm _38 _years old," Yuka teased despite the tears that were beginning to pour.

He smiled gently and said, "I guess I never noticed the angel with wings like an eagle and eyes like a shining diamond."

"Is that description implying me?" Her eyes lit up, but then realisation struck her.

Izumi nodded and said, "I want to live with you forever."

"Well, why are my wings like an _eagle_?" she queried, her eyebrows scrunched up in bafflement.

He smiled again and said, "I was weak before you found me, both physically and emotionally. Before I met you, my wings weren't strong enough to fly high in the air. But after I met you, your wings were strong like an eagle's because you lifted me up from the darkness. _That _is why your wings are like an eagle's, Yuka."

Tears of joy slid down her rosy cheeks as she tackled him to the ground, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I-I love you," she whispered, sniffling.

He chuckled and said, "I love you too."

Thus the cycle of love started all over again.

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It was a normal day. The sun was shining brightly; the birds were chirping in the background, the sound of children's laughter and cries could be heard from the distance and the sound of the water gushing. It was like the day she had agreed to marry him, but this time, the day wouldn't end with grins plastered on their faces.

"I'm so sorry, Yuka-san…" the doctor's voice trailed off at the sight of her horror-stricken face.

"W-what?" she asked, hiccupping madly.

"It seems that your unborn child was strangled by an umbilical cord, Yuka-san," the doctor said, pity and remorse evident in his dull eyes. Tears escaped Yuka's brown eyes as she buried her head in her hands.

"Shh, Yuka, it'll be alright," Izumi soothed, rubbing her back relaxingly.

Yuka replied, "No! It _won't _be alright, Izumi! Mikan _died_! And she was only eight months…" Her hands were trembling as she patted her stomach. "I-I c-can't have a-another b-baby, Izumi… I'm already _40 _years old and that's my limit, the d-doctor said!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, looking down in shame.

"W-why are you saying sorry?" she asked shakily. "It's my fault because I proposed to you too late, Yuka. If I had proposed earlier, maybe we could've had another baby and—"

"No, it's not your fault, Izumi." Her firm, decisive voice interrupted his apology.

"W-what?" he stuttered, staring at her with his eyes wide.

"I _want_ Mikan," she mumbled, "It'll feel different with a different baby, Izumi. I felt something _special _about Mikan."

"B-but—"

"No buts," she said, taking hold of his pale hand, looking at him with dazed eyes. "I love you."

He couldn't help but smile. "I love you too."

They didn't grin like love-sick fools two years ago, but they smiled for Mikan, their baby angel who was probably watching over them in the blue sky, innocence and purity in her big brown eyes.

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It wasn't a normal day today. Izumi could feel the adrenaline in his veins. He could feel the spark in his body. But a bad feeling was nagging him at the back of heart. "Yuka! I'm going to go down to the Hyuuga's! I left my coat there from yesterday!" Izumi shouted to his wife as he grabbed his boots. Yuka wrapped her arms around him and pecked him on the cheek.

"Mm, okay. Don't take _too _long," she reminded him.

He winked and said, "I'll make sure you won't need to wait too long. I'll just pick it up and I'll race back here, okay?" Izumi knew of the envious looks his wife had sent Kaoru every time they had conversed. He didn't like driving her crazy with jealousy, but he couldn't help but smirk at her inner possessiveness of him.

"I know. I trust you."

With that, he walked down the hill and towards the huge house that had white painted walls. As Izumi saw it in the distance, he slowed his pace down as he took in his surroundings. Wells, grass, birds, trees, a fountain—

His eyes squinted in confusion as he stared at the fountain that certainly wasn't there two nights ago. "What the…" his voice trailed off as he drew closer to the spectacle. "I could've _sworn _this fountain was never here." He eyed the clean water that was gushing soundly. Cautiously, he cupped some water with his hands and he flinched at the coldness of the water. Bringing the water in his hands closer to his mouth, he started sipping it. _Cold, but refreshing, _he thought. Deciding that it wasn't life-threatening, he gulped the water straight in one go.

_It has a weird taste._ Izumi wiped his hands on his pants before making his way to the house. Before he could step further, he noticed he was growing… _shorter_ and _younger-looking_. "What the heck!" he said, eyes wide in alarm.

"Aah, it seems like you drank it, my boy."

Izumi whipped his head in the direction of the croaky voice. "Excuse me?" he asked, bewildered as he heard his bones cracking. The woman looked around her eighties, wrinkly skin and grey hair.

She smirked and said, "Why don't we discuss it at my cottage, boy?"

"No, you tell me _now_ here!" he barked furiously.

She waved his furious expression off and said, "Very well then, ignorant boy. What you just drank from was the _Seishun no Izumi_. In other words, the Fountain of Youth."

His eyes widened in fear and said," S-so… I'm growing _younger_?"

Her pale red lips tugged up in a smirk. "Correct."

"How _young_?" he snarled.

She sighed and said, "How much did you drink?"

"I drank from my hand! How should I know?" His eyebrows twitched in frustration and disbelief.

"Well, how old are, no wait, _were _you?" she asked.

"Forty-one," he answered.

"Then… estimating the amount you drank, you'll probably be twenty-one years old," she stated.

"What? I just drank a sip or two!" His body was still adjusting to changes, his hair turned darker in colour and his hands grew smaller.

"The drink is _very _strong; mind you," she explained, "-and stop getting so angry. You're angry over such a little thing."

He exploded, "Growing _younger _is something I'm forbidden to get _angry _over?"

"Well, I don't see why you're against growing younger. Women would probably be begging for the treatment your undergoing right now," she said, shrugging.

"Well, I'm _not _a woman!" Finally, his body gradually stopped growing.

"Whatever. Seeing as I am not needed her any more, I shall bid goodbye," she announced, disappearing out of thin air.

"Hey, wait!" He made a move to grab onto her, but was too late and tumbled onto the grass with a _thud_. He groaned and dusted his pants, standing up. His eyes widened in realisation. "Oh _crap_! I forgot about Yuka!" Izumi ran back up the hill, eager to tell her about the news as a plan formed in his head.

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"Where is that _Izumi_?" she hissed, looking out the window for signs of her currently missing husband. "If he's not here in five minutes, I'm going to march down to the Hyuuga's with an axe and chop his head off!" Her eyes lit up as she saw Izumi running towards the house, panting. "Izumi! Why did you take so _long_? And where is your coat! And what _happened _to you?" she screeched, finally noticing the major changes in her husband's body. Seeing as he took awhile to answer, she gasped, "Are you _even _Izumi? Sure, you look like him but you look _so _young! Well, the younger Izumi, but—hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Calm down, Yuka! It's _me, _Izumi," he said when he finally managed to speak through his panting. _Pant._

"Then why do you look twenty years younger?" she accused, narrowing her brown eyes.

Izumi scratched his head sheepishly and started his explanation, "Well..."

**A Few Minutes Later…**

"WHAT?" Her jaw dropped in amazement after her husband's explanation, scrutinising Izumi's body.

"So, I thought of an idea! Why don't you drink a bit of it so we're both younger, and we can have another child, Yuka."

She averted her eyes from his stare as she said, "I-I don't know, Izumi. It's too hard for me just to replace Mikan."

He sighed tiredly and said, "But we're _not _replacing Mikan. I'm sure Mikan will be ecstatic to hear the news that she has a younger sibling."

She smiled as she imagined the scenario. "I guess… you're right. Where is the fountain though, Izumi?"

He grinned triumphantly as he pointed out the directions. "You _sure _you don't want me to just accompany you?"

Yuka shook her head and said, "I want to surprise you." As she walked in the direction of the fountain, Izumi tried to imagine their future together. He imaged a child gurgling in their arms, brown eyes like Mikan's.

But truth be told, his imagination of the future didn't feel _right_.

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Yuka ran down the hill as soon as the fountain was in view. Panting, her eyes were glued to the fresh-looking water. Tempted to sip more than allowed, she sipped the water from her hands. As her eyes widened in wonder, she began drinking more and more. And slowly, she began shrinking. Little did she know what her deadly consequence was.

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Izumi tapped his foot impatiently, squeaks coming from his wet boots. "Where is _she_?" he muttered under his breath. He stared at the ticking clock, wondering why it took his wife fifty minutes to sip water, grow younger, and walk back here. _Since she grew younger, shouldn't she have more strength? _He thought, irritated. As his impatience grew thin, he sprinted down the hill towards the fountain. But he screeched to a stop as his eyes took in the shocking image. His _40 year old wife_ had turned into a _baby_. His sides trembled in anger and sadness as he knelt beside her. "Y-Yuka?" he asked, afraid to look into brown, hazelnut eyes. Tears trickled down his face as he stared at her brown innocent eyes. "N-no," he sobbed, cradling the baby in his arms. "Y-Yuka!" he screamed in agony, ignoring the cries of the baby.

"Hmm, seems like you're having mayhem."

Izumi stood up immediately and turned on his heel to glare at the lady standing in front of him. "_You_! You're the reason she's like this!" he accused, eyes murderous and furious.

She smirked – which made him angrier by the second – as she said, "It's not _my _fault. You're the one who suggested the idea to her. But isn't it better this way?"

"Why you—"

She shook her head. "She can be happy with another man now. She doesn't have to bear the guilt and sadness from the loss of your unborn child. She can have another child _without _torturing herself knowing that she supposedly replaced Mikan," the woman whispered, staring at Yuka. Izumi followed the line of her vision, looking down at Yuka sadly.

"S-so, this is goodbye?"

The woman nodded slowly then vanished into thin air once again. Izumi's vision blurred from his warm tears, a forced smile crept on his face. "I guess this is goodbye, Yuka, my eagle." He walked towards the Hyuuga's house and saw the lights switched on. As he walked onto their doorstep to knock onto their door, he remembered something.

"Yuka, even though I know you can't understand me, there's something I forgot to tell you two years ago," he took in a deep breath, "I forgot to tell you another reason why your wings are like an eagle. You soared like an eagle, you know? You were a kind, carefree, loving person and you were so… _graceful_. You caught my eye from the very beginning." He smiled down at her for one last time before leaving her on the doormat and knocking onto the door rapidly. Kissing her cheeks one last time, he ran away quickly to hide from their sight.

"Goodbye, Yuka. I'm sure we'll meet again when you're older and when I'm a grandfather," Izumi murmured, watching Kaoru cradle the baby gingerly in her arms.

"I love you."

And somewhere inside his mind, he could hear Yuka's giggles.

_I love you too._

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_When you soar like an eagle, you attract the hunters.  
-_Milton S. Gould

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_You'll always be my eagle, Yuka._

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**REVISED! no major changes in plot, just fixed the paragraphs a bit.**

**Thank you for reading~ I'm trying to write different pairings now :L. Review if you have any criticism or if you liked it :). Thanks,**

**~Joy. **


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